Matthew Hyson, formerly Spike Dudley, was the featured guest on the LIVE return show of Get in the Ring with Phantom and new co-host, Junior. In the interview, Matt discusses everything from the time he was called up to the WWE, his reasons for disliking the way they handled his release, going to TNA, and much more.
To Listen to the Interview: Click Here!
Phantom welcomed Matt by saying he mastered the art of "flying in the air" into the crowd and Hyson joked saying it was more like "being thrown". "It's called gravity brother," Matt said, "that's all it is...gravity and big giant guys". Phantom asked how he can trust someone like Bam Bam Bigelow to throw him into the crowd and Matt explained that it wasn't him he had to worry about, rather the fans that he's trusting to catch him. "He's a big strong guy, I weight a buck-forty," he continued, "I guess all it is is the ability to not get hurt. You know what I mean? I don't consider a guy picking me up and throwing me into the fifth row any great skill".
Matt wasn't really expecting his call up to WWE (WWF at the time) after ECW had folded. "I knew Paul E. was there, I knew the Dudleys were there, Tazz, and I had friends there, but I didn't know how much influence they had on hiring," Hyson said, "so when I got that call on a Friday afternoon, they said 'do you want a job', I said 'hell yeah'. I guess I was surprised that a guy my size actually made it to the WWF". As far as the success to the success of his first couple of appearances with the company and how well he got over with the fans, he gives a lot of credit to the locations.
Discussion turned to his release and whether he was surprised, in which he was because he had been told that his job was secure. "I had been promised a two year extension about a month before they fired me," Matt explained, "they told me the contract's in the mail, so I wasn't worried about my job because, hey, I've still got two years to go". When Matt received the call and was told that he had been let go, he asked about the extension, but that was it. "It's a big 'screw you' because for the five years that I gave them and just giving up the body for them, you expect to at least go out with a little dignity...not a phone call at 9:30 on a Wednesday night".
He continued with his thoughts on the way the release was handled by saying that if someone had just come to him and told him in person that they didn't have anything for him, to leave with the possibility of coming back in a couple of years, he would have been fine. "To be honest, it's real bush league," he said, "I hate to sound bitter about it all, but I really feel like I got screwed with and I'm not very happy with them". Phantom brought up (a little later during the show) that he was surprised they had fired Dawn Marie due to her being pregnant, but Matt asked why he was surprised. "They fired Test a few years ago after he broke his neck in the ring and was three months recovering from neck surgery," Hyson continued, "how scummy is that? Does anything that they do in terms of morals or ethics surprise anybody anymore? No, not really "
Matt actually carries on about the way that the WWE treats the "top 5" guys compared to the work horses in the company, but then moves on and says that the Independent scene is where he's currently "trying to make a buck" and he has talked to TNA, but doesn't know if he'll go there. "They seem to be the hot company," he said about TNA, "they've got the right attitude, so I'd love to be apart of it, but you've just got to take it day by day and if there's a spot for me and I'm welcome there, then yeah, I'd certainly go to work for them".
The rights to his name are, of course, owned by the WWE. "When I signed, let's face it, I didn't have any negotiating power," he explained, "I just wanted a job. So, when they handed my contract, I signed everything over. Not that I ever even owned Spike Dudley; I never had it copyrighted". When he was in ECW, he was never concerned about someone trying to rob him of his name, but when he got to the WWE, he signed it without looking at it and apparently signed over his "life". "Them taking it away...yeah, that's scummy because Bubba and D'Von is one thing. They're national-named figures and going to TNA, that could have an influence...but in terms of just going out and making a living using Spike Dudley as a name, [them] telling me that I can't do that after I've been doing it for ten years..yeah, that's about as low as it gets".
Hyson continued discussing his future in professional wrestling, plus held back on telling who the "jerk" was that fired him. You can listen to the interview by clicking the link above and then make sure you're around tonight from 7-8 EST as Get in the Ring returns live with special guest, Rikishi!
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